Rising From the Ashes
by Heaven1y
Summary: Bonnibel B. Bubblegum is a rather normal princess. Or is she? Our candy girl may not be as sweet as she appears. A peek into her past shows just how she ascended the throne, and it isn't all gumdrops and rainbows. Rated M for violence. Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time or any of its characters.
1. Once A Year

Chapter One: Once a Year

"Bonnie! Wait up," Paul cried, as he ran clumsily after her in in the pouring rain. The blonde-haired boy had never been the graceful one. Yet, he was only seven, so that wasn't unusual. His bright blue eyes shined with laughter as he ran along after the girl, and mud splashed on his faded rain boots.

Paul always found a way to make the day bright, even when clouds shaded it. Maybe this was why he and Bonnie were best friends. Or maybe they just liked each other. They didn't really stop to think about it, just went on a new exciting adventure every day and never looked back.

"You'd better hurry or there won't be any cake left," Bonnie shouted over her shoulder, still rushing along. Her short, piecey pink hair was drenched and her chubby legs pattered the ground as fast as they would take her. She loved the rain, but she could only stay out in it so much before it seeped into her bones and made her crave her warm bed and some hot chocolate.

Bonnie was turning seven today. Her father and Paul's mother, Mrs. Rensdale, were throwing her a party. Of course, it would only be her, Paul, and the parents attending. But she didn't mind. There would be cake, and presents, and maybe Paul's mother would let them watch one of her movies from a long time ago. She liked The Little Mermaid best.

She skidded around a corner and stopped in front of the house. It was small and cozy, just enough room for her and her daddy.

Bonnie was proud of her father. He was Vander Deneraux, Chief Neuroscience Engineer for the Government. She didn't really understand what that meant, but it sounded important. He was a big man, opinionated and loud, but tender when it came to his daughter. He loved her very much, and always made time for her despite the busy days he worked in his lab.

Bonnie didn't really understand the Government, either. The grown-ups talked about it a lot, in hushed and worried tones. She knew that it gave Paul and his mother food, money, and a house, and it gave her father a nice job. She thought it a dull and adult topic, and preferred her imaginary games.

She scurried up to the front door and made her way inside, closely followed by a panting Paul. They both dripped mud and rain water onto the clean tile floor. Paul's mother noticed them and made them go back outside and take off all their rain clothes, and exclaimed how dirty the floor was.

However, the floor was quickly forgotten. Birthdays were always special in this house. As her father always said, you only get one a year. And what could be more special than that?

"Happy Birthday, my dear," her father said, and scooped her up into his arms. "Just wait until you see what present I've got for you," he whispered into her ear. She giggled.

Mrs. Rensdale pulled the cake out of the pantry. It was a small, round chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. Ash's favorite. "Gather 'round, everyone, so we can sing and Bonnibel can blow out her candle. It's not every day that one turns seven, you know," Mrs. Rensdale said, and smiled warmly.

Mrs. Aphrodite Rensdale was like an aunt to Bonnie. Since her husband left her, the Denereauxs and Paul were her only family, or the closest thing she had to it. She cooked everyone wonderful food, told her stories about The Olden Days, and let the two children watch shows on her holo-vision player. She always smelled good too, like vanilla.

The group stood around the round wooden table and sang, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you..." Bonnie blew out her candle, and wished, with all her heart, that every day would be like this one. She wanted to spend the rest of her life happy and with the people she loved.

"You know we'll have to go to school next year," Paul said, stuffing cake into his mouth. Every child was sent to school at the age of eight, and graduated at sixteen. Bonnie was dreading it. She wanted to stay home with her daddy. At least Paul would be there with her.

"Can we show her the present now?" Paul asked excitedly, after they had eaten. He looked like he was about to burst.

"Paul! You know what it is? Why didn't you tell me?" Bonnie exclaimed, not believing that he hadn't said something. Paul was horrible at keeping secrets, especially from her.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Now c'mon, can we?" he pleaded, turning to Vander.

"All right, I guess," he answered, with a broad smile on his face. "But you'll have to come outside to see it."

Outside? Bonnie thought. It must be really big! I wonder, could it be a pony? Or a bicycle? Ohh, I can't wait!

The birthday girl and the Rensdales walked around the house and to the backyard, led by Bonnie's father. They followed him across the newly cut yard to a red patch of fabric, hiding in the grass.

"Viola!" he exclaimed, and threw his arms out, expecting feedback from the troop. Bonnie stood with a blank stare, confused and waiting for an explanation.

He turned around, looked down at the ground, and looked back up in realization. "Oh. OH! This, haha, this isn't the present. Sorry folks, sorry." They giggled at his silly act. It was obviously a planned way to stall and add suspense. It worked.

He pulled back the red piece of fabric, revealing a small hole in the ground and a metal ladder, with a plastic piece to cover it. He flipped up the plastic and descended the ladder.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in, the water's fine!" he called up from underground. They hesitated, and then carefully followed him down.

When they had all reached the bottom, Bonnie's father pulled a cord and a single light bulb flashed on. It took a minute for the party to adjust to the dim light.

When their vision cleared, they took in the place around them. It was a large room, with stone walls and a concrete floor. It was completely bare, except for the light bulb, still flickering above their heads

"So? What do you think? Do you love it?" Vander asked, an expectant smile on his face.

"What is it?" Bonnie said. She looked around the room again. Was her present hiding? How could it be? The room was empty.

"Why, it's your very own room, to do whatever you want with it. It's soundproof, waterproof, heatproof, shockproof... everything-proof! We can turn it into a clubhouse, or a dance studio, or whatever you want. Only the best for my princess."

"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Bonnie said, running into his arms. "This is the best birthday ever!" She embraced him tightly, and then turned to the other family. "Thank you for coming to my party. I love you both and it wouldn't have been the same without you."

They smiled, and thanked Bonnie and her father for inviting them. Then Paul piped up in his sweet, childish voice, "C'mon, Bon, let's go watch The Little Mermaid! We can play with your present later." He took her hand and practically dragged her up the ladder and back inside. The parents laughed, shook their heads, and followed them to the house.


	2. Nine Years Later

Chapter Two: Nine Years Later

Bubble, fizz, hiss. Bubble, fizz, hiss, stop. This can't be right, Bonnie thought. Maybe my calculations were off... I don't have time for this. I'm so close, a hairsbreadth away. Time is ticking.

The sound of the hatch opening startled her out of her thoughts. A person hit the floor behind her, not bothering to use the ladder. She turned around, feigning irritation.

"Paul, you know I don't like it when you do that. You could slip and fall and break your neck." She turned back around to the counter, swirling a test tube filled with a pink liquid.

Bonnibel had decided to make her seventh birthday present into a chemistry lab when she was about ten years old. Those were the good days. She had been fascinated by compounds and elements and solutions, the building blocks of the world. Posters of the periodic table and DNA models plastered the walls. Some of Paul's mother's ancient books were piled messily on the floor. A blanket or two were crumpled in a corner.

Paul walked up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. "You spend too much time in your lab, Bonnie. Come on a walk with me. Or we can try and find a good Synthesushi place. It is your birthday, you know. I think a Sweet Sixteen celebration is needed for my Bubblegum girl," he said with a grin, using his favorite nickname for her. Her pink hair and rosy complexion had caused him to dub her his Bubblegum, sweet as candy.

Many things had changed since the happy times of Bonnie's childhood. For one, her and Paul were madly in love with each other, in the literal sense. Not the kind of love that frivolous teenagers fall in and out of. This was a different kind, one that was based on years of friendship and compatibility.

Paul had graduated from school a few months earlier. Bonnie's graduation was yesterday. Goodbye and good riddance, she thought. Now she could work full time in her lab, and be with Paul. She had gotten brilliant marks in everything, but she still hated school. Everything and everyone there was fake. It made her sick. She was glad to be done with it for good.

The other changes were much worse. The Government had grown more and more oppressive, cutting workers' pay and throwing nearly everyone into poverty. Most food was synthetic now, real food was too expensive for anyone but the Government. Electronics were cheap and plentiful. New laws had been made restricting any business, house, or other property not registered, and therefore owned, by the Government. This made Bonnie's lab illegal. She was glad it was underground.

Anyone thought to be a traitor was immediately jailed, for as long as the Government saw fit. Everyone was scared and nervous, all the time. You never knew who was watching.

Bonnie's father was forced to work longer and longer hours, making advanced weapons for the military. He and Bonnie were estranged, and barely saw each other. The house was falling into ruins. She spent much more time in her lab than she used to.

Paul's mother had gone downhill after the children had gone off to school. She was depressed, and started taking narcotics. She was in a run-down rehab center in the city now, rotting away. It made Paul cry inside, Bonnie knew, but there was nothing anyone could do.

Bonnie rubbed her eyes and leaned into Paul. "You're right," she sighed. "I need a break or something. But you know better than anyone, I hate birthday parties."

He smiled teasingly. "You used to love them! Okay, okay. No fancy parties or anything. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you off scot-free. At least let me take you out to eat."

Bonnie didn't want him to have to spend any money on her. With having to pay for his mother's care, he had barely anything to spend on himself. But she knew that he was going to be stubborn, and decided that she would give in this one time.

"All right, but only Synthesushi." She couldn't help but smile at the way his eyes lit up. She giggled. When was the last time I did that? she wondered. Maybe I have been spending too much time in the lab. But it'll all be worth it, when my plan works. If my plan works.

She pulled Bonnie into a kiss. His athletic build and still-blond hair stood in contrast to her curvy, short form and bubblegum colored hair, which she had grown out to cascade down her back. They were, in the opinions of their old classmates and the people of the city, the ugliest things anyone had ever set eyes on.

The beauty ideal was a far cry from Paul and Bonnie. Ink black hair, pale skin, and cut grey eyes were the standard, and a tall, slender body. The pretty people glided down the streets like they were floating. Bonnie and Paul were clumsy and bumbling. The young couple stood out like crayons in a pile of charcoal.

Paul had never minded the bullies and starers, always returning their sharp comments with a smile. Bonnie, however, had let them get to her. She was unsatisfied with her appearance, and sometimes wondered why Paul even liked her. I am, without a doubt, the ugliest creature on Earth, she thought. But Paul told her, over and over, how wonderful and beautiful she was. That helped.

Paul climbed the ladder, going one rung at a time so Bonnie wouldn't fret. They started the long trek through the bleak city, talking the whole way.

"So when are you going to tell me what you keep working on so much, anyway?" Paul asked. He had been bugging her about it ever since she started, but she had locked her mouth shut and thrown away the key.

"I already told you, I'm not saying anything until I finish. I will tell you one other thing I'm working on, though. A special side project," she said with a wink. Paul asked what it was, even though he didn't need to.

"It's a present for you," she said, "and I think I'm ready to give it to you when we get home. If you want it."

"Of course I want it! Anything you make is sure to be amazing, Bubbles. But I should be giving you presents, not the other way around."

She assured him that it was okay, and they arrived at the sushi place. It was an old building, falling apart and crumbling in some places. But the food was good and cheap. Bonnie was uncomfortable with the people gawking at them, surely because of their strange appearances. Paul seemed not to notice. They devoured their food, having not had a square meal in quite some time, and then returned home.

Bonnie took Paul down to her lab again, and made him close his eyes. She pulled out a small hunk of metal with buttons all over it and two cords coming out of the top. It had a small chip protruding from the back.

"Okay, open your eyes!" she chirped, holding out the device. He pulled his hands down and set his eyes upon her eagerly.

"Is this what I think it is?" he said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He took the metal from her hands and turned it over, examining it.

"Yes sir. A Portable Music Player, made all the way back in 1980 CE. Complete with earcords and over 5,000 of the greatest songs of Ancient Times. I modified it so it never has to be charged. Just press that butto-"

Her sentence was cut off when Paul tackled her into a hug, taking away her breath. "This is amazing, Bon," he said into her shoulder. She gasped and coughed, and he realized that he still had her in a bear hug. He hastily let go.

"Now my present for you," he said. He had a mischievous glint in his eye and Bonnie wondered just what he had up his sleeve. Suspiciously, she waited as he pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a small brown mouse, with a pink heart dyed into its hair. It squeaked and writhed in his hands, glad to be free of the confines of his pocket.

He held it out to Bonnie, and she took it gingerly. "I knew how much you wanted a pet, and I figured, what better for a mad scientist that a lab rat?" he said, teasing her. "I got it at a pet store in the city. Do you like it?"

"I love it," she said, rubbing its velvety ears. "It needs a name, though. How about... Science?"

Paul laughed. "You sure are a science geek, Bubblegum. But whatever floats your boat," he said, laughing.

Bonnie laid Science inside a square glass container, and put some pieces of fabric inside and mesh across the top. The mouse arranged the bedding meticulously and sat inside it, with content.

"Okay, I have to get back to my work. I need to double-check my equations and go back over my notes. Are you going to go visit your mom?"

Paul nodded, kissed her cheek goodbye, and climbed the ladder. When the hatch was closed again, Bonnie turned back to her work.

She had been stealing chemicals and equipment from the chemistry classes at her school, a little each day. They never seemed to notice. She normally had a strong moral compass, but she didn't feel guilty at all. The Government had enough money to buy all of the chemicals in the world if they wanted. There were enough supplies in the cupboards now to last her for a good while.

She heated a watery grey liquid in a beaker over a Bunsen burner, and squeezed a pipette full of a viscous blue substance out over it. Bubble, fizz, hiss, stop. Sigh.


	3. Bonnibel Breaks Down

Chapter Three: Bonnibel Breaks Down

Bonnie was tired, so tired, but she knew she had to keep going. One more day, she told herself. I'm so close, and all our problems will be gone when this is over. I have to do this. For Paul, for me, for everyone.

It was three weeks since Bonnie's sixteenth birthday. She had hardly left her lab since that day. She refused to come out until her experiment, her brainchild, she called it, was finished. Paul brought down Imi-Bread and protienspread down, along with food for Science, and lots and lots of coffee. Bonnie barely ate.

She hadn't slept in two days. Her vision was starting to swim, days and nights blurred together. She went over her calculations numerous times, checking and rechecking. Her DNA models became a constant obsession.

"Bonnie? You okay?" Paul said hesitantly from above ground. She didn't reply, too absorbed in her work to hear much of anything. Beakers clinked and papers rustled in an insane frenzy.

Paul went into her lab and stood behind her, looking worried. "Bonnie. I don't have a good feeling about you being down here all the time. You need to sleep, and eat, and talk to me. C'mon. Put the papers down. Look at me." He laid a hand on her arm.

"No!" she cried, jerking away from him. "I don't have time for this! Leave me alone!" Paul looked horrified, backing away from her.  
She slumped her shoulders and laid the thick stack of papers, riddled with complicated language, down on the counter. "I'm sorry, Paul. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just really, really need to finish this. Give me one more day, I promise, and I'll be done with it forever. You'll see."

"Okay," he said, reluctant to give up. But he knew there was no stopping her when it came to this... whatever it was. "But only one day, and then I want you to come outside and eat, and sleep, and shower."

She nodded hastily, and returned to her work. Paul sighed, and left her alone. He couldn't help but think, for one second, that she wasn't the same Bonnibel Denereax that he had known for so long. He quickly banished the thought and walked back to the house.


	4. The Long Night

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading this far. This is my first fanfic ever! I would love it if you would review and tell me what you think, any suggestions are accepted with open arms :) And if you find and plot holes or inconsistencies please please tell me, I'll try to fix it right away. Kisses! On with the show.**

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Chapter Four: The Long Night

It was late at night, one or two in the morning. Bonnie didn't keep track of time. What's going wrong? she wondered, raking her hands through her hair. This should work perfectly. This should be the end of my struggles, I should be done with working, once and for all! Why are the reactions not right? I'm getting sick of this.

She poured the contents of a small beaker into a large vat of bubbling red liquid. On a whim, she mixed it with a metal spoon, like the witches of old. "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble," she said to herself, giggling. She was on a bit of a manic high now from lack of sleep.

The mixture in the container began to turn a different color than normal. It was usually a dull grey, thick, almost like pudding. Now it was a light salmon color, and had the consistency of milk. Bonnie felt her heart beat faster. This was wonderful, this was progress, this could be the answer.

She poured the liquid into the top of her old distillery, and waited patiently. It dripped into a test tube, now jellylike and bright pink. She sucked a bit of it into a pipette, emptied it onto a small glass square, and slid it under her expensive (although stolen) Moli-Structure microscope.

She put her face up to the eyepiece, afraid to get her hopes up. What she saw startled her. It was the perfect molecular structure, the one she had been yearning after for ages. It took her a minute to register what this meant.

Bonnie yanked her face away from the microscope and jumped for joy. She didn't think people had actually jumped for joy until now. She ran around the room, whooping and shouting, laughing like a maniac. Yesyesyesyesyes, she thought. Wait 'till I tell Paul!

She came to a halt. The substance still had to be made ready for its purpose. It would be a long night. She returned to her work with renewed vigor, hardly able to wait until morning, when Paul would surely come for her. He would be in for a big surprise.


	5. Where You Go, I Go

**This chapter took absolutely ****_forever _****to write. I rewrote it five or six times and checked it rechecked it and quadruple-checked it and I think it's the best i'm going to get. I hope you like it, and if you do, leave a review! If you don't, leave a review! Thanks bunches~**

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Chapter Five: Where You Go, I Go

As soon as Paul's feet hit the lab floor that morning, Bonnie was on top of him, grabbing his waist and holding him tightly. She held his face in her hands and smothered him with kisses.

"Whoa, Tiger," Paul said, laughing and pulling away. "I'm glad you're back to your old self. Got something to show me?"

"Yeah," she said, grinning wildly. "Gimme a minute. This is what I've been waiting for forever. I want it to be just right." Bonnie took a comb, mirror, and a simple white sundress from a low drawer near her feet. She glanced at her reflection, and recoiled. Is that really what I look like? she wondered, horrified at her appearance. Her skin tone was uneven and blotchy and the light hit her face all wrong, casting unflattering shadows across her cheeks and chin. No matter, she thought, I won't be like this for long.

She took the comb and ran it through her hair, and put on the light, breezy dress, not bothering to conceal her body as she changed. Paul was staring at her with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth. She was usually modest and easily embarrassed, but there was no time for that now.

When Bonnie walked back over to Paul, she had her hand wrapped around something small. "This is it," she whispered, a slightly insane smile on her face. "This, right here, will change our lives forever."

She held her hand out and slowly opened it, revealing her life's work to him at last. In the center of her palm were two tiny tablets, round and a very light pink, almost white.

Paul was puzzled, and it showed in his face. "You spent all this time working on those... things? What are they? What do they do?"

"This is a very complex gene mutating serum, concentrated into a pill. It will change our DNA into that of a genetically superior human being, perfect in every way. We'll have razor sharp senses, increased strength and stamina, cell regenerating abilities. We'll be better, smarter, stronger than anyone else in the whole world. It'll give us a whole new life, everything we've ever wanted. And the best part is," she said in a crazed, low voice, and then paused for a moment. "We'll be beautiful."

Paul stared at her, trying to take in everything she had just said. "This is crazy... You're... but we can't! This is just... give me a minute," he said, sliding his back down along the wall until he was sitting. He raked a hand through his hair and shook his head, as if trying to jostle his thoughts into order.

Bonnie's face fell when she saw that he wasn't excited. "Why can't we? Don't you see! No more teasing. No more ugliness. Just perfection. And we can make the world a better place! After we take these, we can take on the Government. We'll be superhumans. We can have anything we want, all we have to do is swallow a tiny little pill. It's a bit absurd, really," she said, giggling.

"But we can't change who we are! I want to be me, and I want you to be you, ugly and imperfect or not. And is it even safe? Are these tested? Don't tell me you've forgotten all of the science-experiment-gone-wrong movies we used to watch when we were kids, Bonnie. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"This isn't a movie, Paul. We'll still be ourselves, even if our bodies are different. We'll still love one another, more than anything. And we can change things. We'll make a difference! The world will be a better place because of us. No one will have to be afraid of the Government, no one will be bullied or teased. We can stop all that. We'll be like... Superman and Wonder Woman!"

"But no, they aren't tested," Bonnie said, disappointed that she couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. "That's why I'm taking it first. If anything happens to me, then you'll know not to take it. If you decide to."

"No, Bonnie, you can't! I won't let you! I'll die before I let anything happen to you. Throw the pills away, please. We can have a happy life together without them," Paul pleaded, weighed down with sadness.

"You don't have to take it, Paul, but I am. I am not negotiating with you on this. I made my decision long ago. Something has to be done. I can't keep living life like this, with my body, with the Government especially." Her eyes were hard with determination. She didn't want to do this without Paul, but she would if she had to.

"You're really set on doing this?" he asked, standing up and walking to her. Bonnie nodded and smiled, glad that he was finally giving up.

"Bottoms up," she said, and held up the pills, ready to pop one into her mouth. Just as she raised her arm, he grabbed it roughly and ripped the pills from her hand. She yelped, trying to resist his grasp, but he had caught her off guard, and there was nothing she could do.. He shoved one into his mouth and swallowed, faster than she could react, and held the other one tightly in his hand.

"YOU MORON!" she screamed, balling her hands into fists. He could practically see the smoke coming from her ears. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!"

"I'm not going to let you do this alone. No way. Where you go, I go. And if this thing is dangerous, if it has some side effects you didn't figure on, then I can't let you get hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So I'm holding onto this pill until you can convince me, without a doubt, that it's all right for you to take it. And that's that."

Bonnie's rage subsided and was replaced with love and concern. She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm sorry I yelled at you. That was really stupid though," she said, laughing despite the tense situation.

"Well, I can't always be as smart as you, Bubblegum, " Paul said, laughing along with her. "Okay, how can you tell if I'm going to turn purple or grow wings or something?" She hooked him up to a heart-rate monitor and brainwave electrodes, and sat him down on the floor. As the machine started to beep, the tension returned, the young couple's nerves stretching thin.

They waited in heavy silence for a few minutes. Nothing seemed to change, neither Paul's appearance nor his physical state. "Did I do something wrong?" Bonnie wondered aloud. "Maybe it's a dud. Maybe I made a mistake..." She turned to the counter, pulling out her stacks of notes and formulas onto the table.

"Bon," Paul said in a pained voice, his breathing ragged and loud. "Something's happening." She whipped around and saw him, doubled over and moaning softly, and checked the monitor. His heart rate was elevated and his brainwaves were pulsing faster, his body going into panic mode. Beads of sweat started to pop up on his face and lip. Bonnie felt his forehead, and it was hot.

"Arghh! It feels like... my chest... AUGHH!" Paul ripped off the electrodes and clutched his chest, falling to the floor. He started to seize, his head hitting the floor over and over, his muscles tense. Nononononono, Bonnie thought. This cannot be happening, please no.

She rushed to his side, trying to hold him down. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his chest shook like an earthquake. The heart rate monitor was still attached to his arm. It beeped out of control, whining like a metal detector. Then it ceased to beep at all. A flat line, just like in all of the old medical dramas they had cuddled up to each other and watched. Symbolic of something terrible that she didn't want to acknowledge.

He was still now, like he was sleeping. She gathered him up in her arms. "No, Paul," she whispered. "I'm sorry. Please don't leave me." Fat tears rolled down her face, then turned into sobs. Her whole body shook. The world without him, her Paul, her sunshine on a cloudy day, was nothing.

Bonnie remembered the other pill. It was still clutched in his hand. She fell onto her side pried his fingers apart, blinded by tears. It felt like a weight was attached to her shoulders, pulling her down, down, down. She hated the thing, the little tablet, that had done so much damage. It had taken her love, her happiness, her entire life away.

She took it in her hand. "Where you go, I go," she whispered. She looked into his eyes for one last time and smiled a sad smile. She swallowed it hard, wiped her face, laid down beside him, and everything faded to black.

**CAUTION: This is not the end of the story! Many many more chapters to come, I promise.**


	6. Assumptions

**Okay guys, I'm thinking about doing a version of this from Marceline's point of view. It will probably be a lot more interesting than this. Or maybe one of Bonnie and Paul at school. Yes? No? Suggestions always welcome.**

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Chapter Six: Assumptions

Bonnie woke up on the floor of her lab, groggy and in a daze. She was disoriented, and her limbs felt pinned to the floor. The ceiling wouldn't stay still, her eyes wouldn't focus. She felt drugged. She had no idea where she was, who she was, or any sense of time. And she didn't much care.

She tried to prop herself up on her elbows. Whoa, she thought, something's not right. Bonnie was lighter and stronger than she used to be, taller, too. She stood up. It took her a minute to steady herself. She looked down at her body, struggling to make her eyes focus.

Her familiar rosy complexion and soft curves were gone. In their place was a slender, pale body with small, perky breasts and a butt to match. Her sundress was much too big for her now. Her waist-length pink hair had been replaced by shiny, pitch black locks that reached well past the tops of her thighs.

Once she regained her composure, she could feel the difference, too. She felt the intense power of having a hidden network of lithe muscles at her command, and her synapses pulsed at rapid-fire speed. She grabbed the mirror laying on the counter and held it up to her face.

Bonnie was truly stunned by what she saw. It was perfection in the literal sense. Her eyes were bigger and a piercing steel grey, the lashes thick and dark. Her cheekbones cut the air like knives. It was as if all the fat had been sucked from her face. Her lips were a soft pink, the only pink thing on her body now. Her skin was pale and clear, almost translucent.

She tried out a walk. Even though she was nowhere near used to her new body, she glided effortlessly across the floor. She flexed her slender fingers, laughing in delight at her new body. Man, these pills do wonders, she thought. Oh God, the pills.

Everything came rushing back to her. She froze in her tracks. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes scanning the floor. She saw Paul, laying on the concrete, and a blood-curdling scream tore through her throat.

How could I have forgotten, she thought. He layed like a rag doll on the hard floor, cold with the touch of death now. Why had it worked for her and not him? She couldn't think about that now.

Tears filled Bonnie's eyes as she walked over to him and picked him up, holding him tenderly, like a baby. She sobbed there for a long time, telling him over and over how sorry she was. She wished she was somewhere else, someone else, even dead. She wrapped him in a blanket, more to comfort herself than him.

She carried his lifeless body up the ladder, somehow using only her feet. The situation felt so unreal, like a dream. Her acute vision was clouded, and she felt like a ghost.

Bonnie went outside for the first time in weeks. It was raining, and the water poured down in a hurricane-like torrent, soaking both of them to the skin. She could see the house, which looked more like a grey blur than anything. She laid Paul down gingerly on the wet grass, and grabbed a shovel that was leaning up against the siding.

How can I be burying Paul? Bonnie wondered, as she walked back to him through the rain. He was so full of life, so animated and beautiful just yesterday. It was wrong, so wrong. Everything was out of proportion and scary. It was as if she had lost a part of her, the part that held all of the happiness, and bravery, and good things. She felt empty now.

She dug a hole in the wet, muddy ground, robot-like and mechanical. She laid Paul tenderly inside, and kissed his cold, damp cheek. No tears would come. She pulled the blanket down over his face and replaced the dirt, slowly turning shovel-fulls of earth over his body. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Limbs heavy and head pounding, Bonnie walked back into her lab. She changed into dry clothes, a short black dress that fit her very loosely. Then she sat on the floor, trying to process the events of the past few days.

After a few minutes, she stood and picked up the mirror from the ground. She looked at herself. The symmetrical, precise beauty of her face that had delighted her just a little while ago disgusted her now. It wasn't worth it. She wanted her own ugly, weak, stupid self back, she would trade it all in a second for Paul.

In a fury, she threw the mirror up against the wall. It glanced off of the stone and shattered into pieces on the floor. She picked up one of the biggest ones and looked at it for a minute. It was sharp and had a jagged edge that glinted in the light.

She dragged it across her wrist, over and over again. Her sensitive nerves screamed with pain, telling her to stop, but she didn't heed their warnings. Blood poured out from her arms, coating her dress and splattering onto the floor. Her head fell forward and she let it hang there. She just wanted to sleep and never wake up again.

Just as quickly as the blood had seeped out, it stopped flowing. The marks quickly faded and then disappeared, leaving her paper-white skin as flawless as it had been before.

She swore under her breath. Would she always regenerate like this? Could she ever die? It was too much for her to bear to never see Paul again. She would jump off of a bridge, drink poison, whatever she had to do, she told herself. But in her heart, she knew it was pointless.

In a fit of rage, Bonnie swiped an arm across the counter, knocking everything on it to the floor. Test tubes broke, coils bent, electronics shorted out. Something heavy hit the floor. She recognized it and picked it up, examining it.

It was Paul's Portable Music Player, her present to him on her birthday. She sat down against the cold stone wall, switched it on, and inserted the earcords into her ears. A sweet, melancholy tune slid through the cords and into her ears like syrup and drowned her thoughts. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the wall.

The man sung, in a low, wavering voice, about and wanting to be with his lover forever. He sang about forgetting the world, and just focusing on the here and now, and being happy in his own way. It reminded her of Paul. Whenever they were together, nothing else had mattered. She wondered if he had thought of her while listening to it. She sat there for a long time, alternating listening to music and sleeping. It was so much better than thinking about her horrible mistake.


	7. Stasis

Chapter Seven: Stasis

It was all Bonnie could do to stay conscious. One day gathered up the motivation to clean up the mess she had made with her equipment. Another, she changed out of her black dress and into a white tank top and denim shorts. She let Science free to roam the backyard, knowing that the fence would keep it in, and it would find food and be safe from predators. Then she fell back into her deep depression.

Bonnie slept for what felt like days at a time. She stared at the walls, tracing the cracks and shadows over and over with her eyes. They were familiar and always the same. It made her feel safe. She had a vague sense of time passing, that months and months had gone by, but it had no meaning to her.

She would have to get new clothes soon, and go outside, she knew. Her father was still somewhere, even though she hadn't seen him in a long time, and Paul's mother was probably out of rehab now. But she couldn't make herself get up off of the floor for more than a few minutes at a time.

She didn't eat, drink, or shower. She didn't have to. Her body somehow took care of itself. All Bonnie really did was listen to the music. It invaded her soul, became a part of her. It quieted her mind and calmed her constantly-alert muscles. She had never liked music much before, she had preferred more concrete and logical things. Nothing in her life was concrete or logical now.

She could now identify every instrument, every genre, all of the vocal tricks the ancient singers had used to differentiate their music from others'. It was like a drug to her.

How ironic, she thought, that the most advanced human being in the world, capable of doing anything, would sit in a small stone room and rot away. It was a waste, really. But wasn't her whole life a big waste?

One day (or was it a night? She was never really sure anymore) a new song came on the Music Player. She thought she had listened to every one. Maybe not. It was a song, she was pretty sure, that ancient people had used to worship their deity. It was different than the other music. It permeated her soul and twisted something deep inside her, exactly what she couldn't put her finger on.

As she listened, tears rolled down her face. She had thought she had no more tears to shed. She couldn't keep living like this. Paul wouldn't want it that way, she told herself.

Bonnie stood up, steadying herself as she started to sway. She looked at the ladder, and the hatch up above. What lay past them scared her. She didn't know if she could handle it without Paul. He had always been there to protect her and assure her of herself, he was almost as much a part of her as she was.  
No, Bonnie told herself, clenching her fists. I'm a big girl and I can do this. Paul would be proud of me. I'll find a way to be normal again, I swear, even if it takes an eternity.


	8. Bonnie Meets Big Al

Chapter Eight: Bonnie Meets Big Al

She walked to the base of the ladder and put one slender, bare foot on the bottom rung. She was still in her white shirt and denim shorts. This is going to have to change, she thought. Maybe they'll have some clothes that fit me outside. This prospect motivated her to climb the ladder and open the hatch.

A dim twilight bathed her face as soon as she pulled open the plastic and stuck her head outside. It was hot, and the air was heavy and humid. It took her a minute to adjust to the natural light.

When her eyes acclimated, her surroundings hit her like a smack in the face. There was no more backyard, no more familiar house, no more grass or trees. Everything was completely different.

In front of her was a dusty greyish blue street, littered with electronic bits and pieces of paper. A busted-up sidewalk lined its sides. Behind her were deserted stores, crumbling houses, an apartment building that looked like it had never been washed.

She was in a small alley between two concrete walls. The asphalt around the round plastic looked like it had been hit with a sledgehammer, and the outside of the plastic had scratches and dents on it, as if someone had tried to open it and failed. It really is everything-proof, isn't it, she thought. She had definitely been in her lab for more than a few months.

Bonnie climbed all the way out and shut the hatch tight. She surveyed her surroundings with her keen senses. Somewhere far away, a group of what sounded like teenaged boys walked the streets and laughed rowdily. She smelled alcohol in one of the stores beside her.

She walked out onto the sidewalk, and turned to the strong-smelling store. A sign on top of the door, missing letters and falling apart, read, "Big Al's Bar." She peeked in one of the filthy windows. It was small and dirty, and there was a shady-looking man passed out on one of the barstools. Maybe he could give her some information.

She opened the door and stepped inside. The man had a beer belly and a white beard, and scruffy white hair. He looked like sort of an alcoholic Santa Claus. He woke with a start. "I don't got no money," he said, in a drunken haze. He took another look at her and smiled, a rotten-toothed grin. He sat up a bit straighter. "Yer cute. Wanna buy a drink?"

"No thank you, I'm fine. I do, however, want some answers." She was mildly disgusted by the man, but he was her only safe way to find out what she needed to know at the moment.

"Oh yeah," he said, suspicious of her. "What kinda answers? And Big Al's famous *hic* wisdom don't come cheap, pretty lady. Yer gonna have ta *hic* pay up." He slumped over on the bar.

She walked over to him and grabbed his stained, sweaty shirt. "Ohh, haha, you can always pay THAT way. I'll tell ya whatever ya gotsta know," he said, grinning and trying to wink. She slammed him up agaisnt the wall, lifting him up off the ground. She didn't have time for his drunken stupidity. His face turned from a lecherous expression into one of fright.

"Now, you stupid drunk, you're going to tell me everything I ask of you, promptly when I ask it." She set him down and he cowered in a corner. She softened a bit. "First of all, what is today's date?"

He managed a laugh. "Honey, yuh done lost yer mind. Callin' me the stupid one." He saw the rage building in her face again and quickly answered, "May 17, 2681. Last time I checked."

"Holy sh-" Bonnie cut herself off. If the drunk was right, she had been underground for more than twenty years. She was still sixteen. Her body hadn't changed or aged at all. But the world around her had.

She shook it off. She could sort everything out later. She wanted to see what else she could get out of this man. "Where is the Government? They never allowed the city to get like this. Or permitted alcohol."

"Tain't no Government n'more. Been gone for... see, today's... Wednesday? Long time. Rebels and gangs tooken over now. That's why I thought you was a theif, at first. But you's just a sexy-hot, crazy lady. A time traveler!" He said, and then laughed a wheezy laugh that transformed into a cough.

Rebels and gangs! This is so much worse than the Government, she thought. I should have come out much sooner. I have to stop this, somehow. But I need supplies. And I have no training.

"Where can I buy food and supplies?" she asked the drunk. His head lolled to the side and his eyes fluttered shut. "Hey!" Bonnie snapped, and gave him a sharp slap on his shadowy, fat face. "Wake up!"

He opened his eyes, head still rolling side to side. "Theres a shop across town, thataway," he said, throwing his arm up lazily towards the liquor counter.  
"But only iffen you got somethin' to trade, or ya steal. And its dangerous to get there. Gangs and what not. 'Specially for you, Sugar. They'll be on you like hotcakes on... y'know what I mean."

"I think I can handle myself, thank you very much," she said, walking to the door. She was glad to be out of there, it was dusty and reeked of alcohol. On her way out, she spotted a metal bar leaning up against the wall. She picked it up and swung it like a baseball bat. It felt light in her hands, although she knew it was a very dense metal. This could come in handy, she thought, tossing it up lightly and catching it.

"Don't say I didn't warn ya!" Big Al called as the door slammed shut. Bonnie went back to her lab and looked for things to trade. She remembered her old clothes, the ones that didn't fit. They were still in one of the drawers. She gathered all of them into a pile and wrapped them in a blanket, and laid it beside the metal bar by the ladder.

She was proud of herself. She had gone outside, talked to a person, found out some things about her surroundings. This was progress. She laid on the floor and tried to sleep. With all of the things running through her mind, it was no easy feat. She eventually drifted into a light, dreamless slumber.


	9. And His Heart Grew Hard

Chapter Nine: "And His Heart Grew Hard"

When it was morning, Bonnie tied the blanket into a bundle and carried it, along with the metal bar, back outside. She started off in the direction that the drunk had pointed in, wary of anything moving or suspicious. The daylight revealed just how run-down and dirty the city was. Along her travel route were more abandoned businesses, empty-looking homes and apartments. She wondered where everyone was, especially her father and Paul's mother.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Bonnie heard some strange noises coming from a small side-road a few yards in front of her. There was some low, rowdy laughter, and muffled yelps. She paused for a minute and listened, and a loud bang rang forth from that direction. She broke into a jog, heading to where the noises had come from, knowing it was probably a bad idea. She could smell sweat and fear, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

When she turned the corner, there was what appeared to be a group of teenage boys, dirty and rough-looking, standing over something. They were laughing and elbowing each other, like she had seen bullies do at school. Something was wrong, very wrong. She could feel it. She dropped her bundle of clothes and held the bar tightly, forgetting that she had no idea how to use a weapon of any kind.

When Bonnie drew closer, she saw something that made her gag reflex kick into action. She doubled over and struggled not to vomit. The boys were standing over a small girl, no more than eight or nine years old. Her skirt was pulled up to her waist and her shirt was torn and dirty.

They were taking turns with her, one holding her mouth shut and another pinning her down. There were at least ten of them. The leader, distinguished by his nicer (or less filthy, rather) clothes and purple bandanna that was wrapped around his neck, stood over the girl, giving directions to the rest of the gang. She tried to resist, but they held her tight, and one delivered a sharp kick to the ribs. Bonnie could see the tears streaming out of her eyes, which were shut tight.

Bonnie watched, horrified, knowing she had to do something, but she was unable to move, breathe, or think. She stood as if paralyzed as the agonizingly long minutes passed. The girl opened her eyes and stared at her, pleading for her help, but it was all she could do not to run away screaming. After what felt like hours, the boys climbed off of her, wiping their faces and slapping each other on the back. The leader, barely loud enough that Bonnie could hear, said to one of the gang members, "We really got her good, didn't we?"

Bonnie flashed back to her torturous years at school. A group of bullies, when she was about the girl's age, had pushed her into a ditch and stolen all of her textbooks and homework. Paul had tried to defend her, but they beat him up mercilessly, and threw him into the same ditch. He was bleeding and crying, and he had a black eye. Just as they were walking away, the ringleader had said the exact same thing about Paul.

Before she knew what she was doing, Bonnie was running towards the group of delinquents. Rage flushed her pale skin, and her heightened instincts revved to full power. She tackled one of the rapists full on, hitting him like a brick wall. They fell to the floor, and she delivered a crushing blow to the side of his head.

The others came at her, feeling confident that they had her outnumbered and overpowered. She swung the metal bar, sending it cutting through the air like a sword. This sent two of them flying straight into the wall, crushing their spines with a sickening crack, and knocked them unconscious, maybe dead. They hit the ground and bounced a few times, leaving blood spatters on the concrete. The rest of the gang turned and ran, stumbling over concrete chunks and garbage, surprised by her speed and strength. She dropped the bar and ran after them, and grabbed onto the leader's shirt. She pulled him back by his collar.

Bonnie threw him to the ground, kicking him over and over again, her bare feet hitting him like a sledgehammer. He screamed, "Bitch!" and coughed roughly, trying to protect his torso and head. Blood spewed out of his mouth, dark red and thick. She lifted the metal bar, which was now covered in hair and bodily fluids, high over her head, and dealt a glancing blow to the side of his skull. He was still.

She took a minute and panted, catching her breath, and nudged him with her foot. He didn't move. His lifeless, prone body, now laying on the wet alley floor, didn't seem like the same one that had caused so much harm only a few minutes ago. He was only a boy now, a thin one, riddled with parasites and disease. The other gang members, the ones she had bludgeoned into the wall, were the same way.

Bonnie turned to the girl, starting to get the empty feeling that comes after adrenaline and blood-lust She was curled up into a ball against the wall, staring at Bonnie. "Are you okay?" she asked, knowing she had scared her.

She scrambled to stand, pulling her skirt down to conceal herself. She stumbled down the alley, slipping in blood and old rainwater. "Wait, come back!" Bonnie shouted, running after her. When she turned the corner, the girl was gone.

Something hardened in her then. Her heart? Maybe. She saw, for the first time, how horrible and unfair the world really was. She should have grasped this with Paul. She thought she couldn't hate the world more than she could after he died. She was unfathomably, infinitely wrong.

The worst part was, there was no one to blame. With Paul, she could blame herself. Blame the Government, or the bullies at school, telling herself they had drove her to it.

Now she couldn't blame anyone for this horrible injustice. She couldn't blame the Government, there wasn't even one anymore. She couldn't even blame the boys, it was all they were taught. It's just the way the world is, she thought, and I'm sure more of this goes on every day. The world doesn't care about me, so why should I care about it?

Bonnie's views of the world changed that day. Any hope and faith in humanity she had in her popped like a bubble. She realized that the world was not a safe place, the older and cunning took advantage of the naive with reckless abandon, no one had any care or concern for their fellow man. It was a vicious world, a mad world, and she was stuck there, she was a part of it. Maybe forever.

And so, her heart grew hard.

She coldly wiped the blood and hair off of her metal bar with an empty paper bag from a nearby dumpster. She glanced at the bodies and considered disposing of them. No, she thought, there's surely no police around here, and if there are, I can take them.

She picked up her bundle of clothes and walked slowly back to the main road. When she got back to the sidewalk, she turned and looked back into the alley, burning the image into her mind's eye. She chuckled softly, turned on her heel, and started on her way.


End file.
